Man stabbed, then decapitated on grey hound bus

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Let's just discuss the topic without the insults please guys.

Well that was what I was trying to say until MMF had to attack me for it. I wonder if he will have the kahoonas to attack you too?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Well that was what I was trying to say until MMF had to attack me for it. I wonder if he will have the kahoonas to attack you too?

Are you a cop of something? I don't care either way, the joke was about a guy trying to moderator the thread who wasn't a moderator. It had nothing to do with your job. I know troutman's a lawyer and Caged Great is a professional scout, that's about all the CP careers I remember.

[Daradon]

I believe he IS a police officer

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Are you a cop of something? I don't care either way, the joke was about a guy trying to moderator the thread who wasn't a moderator. It had nothing to do with your job. I know troutman's a lawyer and Caged Great is a professional scout, that's about all the CP careers I remember.

I wasn't trying to moderate the board, I was just seeing if maybe I could get the topic back on track because I am finding the discussion from both sides interesting. Yes, many on here know I am a cop so I thought you were taking a jab at me with the mall cop comment. I had just read about that officers suicide so I am probably a little edgy right now, sorry. Should not have snapped like that, thought you were trolling me.

[Arya Stark]

Feel terrible for this cop. I can barely read the thread title without feeling ill. I once watched a gore video and it effected me for weeks. Seeing it in real life would probably eff me for life.

I hope the other officers and first responders get all the help they need and get over anything that is bothering them.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Arya Stark

Feel terrible for this cop. I can barely read the thread title without feeling ill. I once watched a gore video and it effected me for weeks. Seeing it in real life would probably eff me for life.

I hope the other officers and first responders get all the help they need and get over anything that is bothering them.

All police services offer post trauma councelling but it only goes so far if you are a witness to something like this. I never have been at a scene of something that bad thank god, and I hope I never will. I hope everybody else involved is finding the strength to cope.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

All police services offer post trauma councelling but it only goes so far if you are a witness to something like this. I never have been at a scene of something that bad thank god, and I hope I never will. I hope everybody else involved is finding the strength to cope.

What is the culture around seeking that help? Getting better to the point where no one is reluctant to get it?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

All police services offer post trauma councelling but it only goes so far if you are a witness to something like this. I never have been at a scene of something that bad thank god, and I hope I never will. I hope everybody else involved is finding the strength to cope.

What are the options if an officer doesn't do well in counselling?

[Daradon]

Question for you Dissentowner. It's been stated on many shows that officers who go for trauma counseling and the like can end up damaging their carrers because of the stigma attached. Is that true, or is that just a movie/television thing? Or maybe it was true at one point, but now that we talk about it more there is more understanding about mental health issues?

I would hope that they can get all the help they can get as obviously the possibility of it getting quite bad (like in this situation) is there for all on duty.

Such a sad story.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by nik-

What is the culture around seeking that help? Getting better to the point where no one is reluctant to get it?

Unfortunately no, most officers do not use that resource. You deal with a lot of negatives, nobody calls the police because they are having a good day and you kind of have to make yourself insensitive to a lot of stuff. You try to believe you can handle anything, that is your job right? So you just pile it up on this shelf in your head so to speak and some people's shelves are big enough to handle years of crap being stored there like an emotional hoarder but not everybody's shelf holds and when it breaks you end up with broken marriages, abuse, and suicides which all are more common in policing than many would believe. You can not even realize how much of your job you take home until all of the sudden you find yourself sitting on the couch with the game on and you are crying for no apparent reason. It happens. Don't get me wrong, there are good moments too that put a smile on your face but you tend not to think about those, it is always the trauma that comes forward. Cops like to think they can handle anything and they are bulletproof, especially male officers but we are just people like everybody else. We are just better practiced at bottling crap up and sometimes that is a bad thing. Wow, I am tired, hope this made sense.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Unfortunately no, most officers do not use that resource. You deal with a lot of negatives, nobody calls the police because they are having a good day and you kind of have to make yourself insensitive to a lot of stuff. You try to believe you can handle anything, that is your job right? So you just pile it up on this shelf in your head so to speak and some people's shelves are big enough to handle years of crap being stored there like an emotional hoarder but not everybody's shelf holds and when it breaks you end up with broken marriages, abuse, and suicides which all are more common in policing than many would believe. You can not even realize how much of your job you take home until all of the sudden you find yourself sitting on the couch with the game on and you are crying for no apparent reason. It happens. Don't get me wrong, there are good moments too that put a smile on your face but you tend not to think about those, it is always the trauma that comes forward. Cops like to think they can handle anything and they are bulletproof, especially male officers but we are just people like everybody else. We are just better practiced at bottling crap up and sometimes that is a bad thing. Wow, I am tired, hope this made sense.

Nope. Total rambling disaster. Post was bad and you should feel bad

jk, informative. Hopefully the stigma goes away. I guessing they couldn't do mandatory sessions because guys would treat it like everyone treats substitute teachers in high school.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Dion

What are the options if an officer doesn't do well in counselling?

An extended medical leave with treatment. If the officer cannot continue his duties after that he will receive an administrative discharge. Usually the officer will realize he can't do the job anymore and will just resign and find a job doing something else. I have known a couple cadets that after getting out there and really seeing what the job entails have just walked away.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Question for you Dissentowner. It's been stated on many shows that officers who go for trauma counseling and the like can end up damaging their carrers because of the stigma attached. Is that true, or is that just a movie/television thing? Or maybe it was true at one point, but now that we talk about it more there is more understanding about mental health issues?

I would hope that they can get all the help they can get as obviously the possibility of it getting quite bad (like in this situation) is there for all on duty.

Such a sad story.

That is no true, officers are encouraged to seek help when they need it and nobody will look down on them. I think some of that old school thinking still lurks though but it is getting better. Policing has come a long way when it comes to mental health issues which is great but it is still a fairly new process.
Yes, no officer wants his colleagues to hear he is seeing a shrink and yet I believe nobody would actually come down on the guy for it. It is just one of those manly insecurities I think. I would definitely be seeking some serious treatment if I was at the scene of this threads topic.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

That is no true, officers are encouraged to seek help when they need it and nobody will look down on them. I think some of that old school thinking still lurks though but it is getting better. Policing has come a long way when it comes to mental health issues which is great but it is still a fairly new process.
Yes, no officer wants his colleagues to hear he is seeing a shrink and yet I believe nobody would actually come down on the guy for it. It is just one of those manly insecurities I think. I would definitely be seeking some serious treatment if I was at the scene of this threads topic.

Football is starting to turn with their attitudes regarding concussions, so hopefully the attitude towards PTSD help will change too.

[Northendzone]

i'd like to hear from somebody who would look down on another person who opted to seek professional help after having to deal with scene like this......

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i'd like to hear from somebody who would look down on another person who opted to seek professional help after having to deal with scene like this......

They exist. They are generally cowards, so you won't be hearing from them unless they know you share their viewpoint. It is not just individuals, organizations often don't show compassion.

[underGRADFlame]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i'd like to hear from somebody who would look down on another person who opted to seek professional help after having to deal with scene like this......

Go into any police locker room and you'll find a large number of them. Cops love to eat their own.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

Go into any police locker room and you'll find a large number of them. Cops love to eat their own.

Sad but true.

[Erick Estrada]

Very sad that the fallout from this horrific incident continues.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

That is no true, officers are encouraged to seek help when they need it and nobody will look down on them.

How much of it is internal help or do they have the option to seek help externally? In other words if they can be seen quicker externally, are they allowed to?

I ask further to a conversation with a psychotherapist a while back and asked her if she dealt with much military PTSD. She expressed that it was a source of great frustration within the profession that the military was pretty much closed to external professional assistance despite being overwhelmed. Just wondering was it the same within the police.